Watch–Ohio Local on GM Plant Closure: ‘Life of Our Communities Is at Stake’

JOHN BINDER11 Mar 2019

A man who has been protesting for four months against multinational corporation General Motors’ (GM) decision to close four manufacturing plants in the U.S. this year says “the life” of the Lordstown, Ohio, community “is at stake.”

Lordstown resident Werner Lange does not work at the Lordstown Assembly Complex, but he has stood strong with the more than 1,600 American workers who were laid off this month as GM shutters the plant to ramp up production in Mexico and China.

Since November, Lange has protested GM’s decision to close the Lordstown plant by standing outside the facility in solidarity with the U.S. workers.

“The life of our communities is at stake,” Lange told WKBN27.

“If [the Lordstown GM plant] sinks, we all sink,” Lange said. “This is the last nail in the economic coffin of the Mahoning Valley. We’re fighting for our lives here.”

The stories of these laid off American workers at GM's Lordstown, Ohio plant are heartbreaking: "There was no thank you for your dedication, loyalty, and services when we were walked out." https://t.co/DoOziWm3Nm

Since 2017, about 4,500 American workers have lost their jobs at GM in Ohio. Another 900 American workers in supporting industries have, too, been put out of work. In Michigan and Maryland, thousands of American workers are expected to be laid off this year.

“General Motors would be a corporate fool for closing down this plant,” Lange said. “It’s my hope that they have something in store, but they better tell us pretty soon.”

At the beginning of this year, GM executives began laying off 14,700 workers in the United States and Canada, with the majority of the layoffs concentrated in Michigan, Ohio, Maryland, Georgia, and Texas, including at least 3,300 American factory workers.

These layoffs included the mass layoff of at least 4,000 American workers in white-collar jobs for GM, many of whom were older and had worked at the corporation for more than two decades. Even in supporting industries, about 400 Americans are set to be laid off in the Lordstown region.

The closing of the four U.S. plants comes as GM has reported nearly $11 billion in fourth quarter pre-tax profit and more than $38 billion in revenue, beating financial experts’ expectations. Additionally, despite the mass layoffs, GM CEO Mary Barra has continued to rake in nearly $22 million a year.

John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder.